Where to Place Your Cactus to Ensure Good Feng Shui

A couple of years ago I knew a married couple who were great cactus-lovers. When I went for a brief visit on some business matters, I noticed that they had cactus plants all over their living room. They were of different size and type and I couldn't help noticing how good they actually looked.

The placement of the cactus plants was subtle and in harmony with the overall look of the room. But, the problem was, the guy was complaining of being nervous, itchy and irritable, and all that without any obvious reason. To make things worse, I noticed that his wife was also on the edge. Knowing about the basic Feng Shui principles, it was clear why their living room had become a place of conflict instead of a place of cooperation and harmony.

It was because of the cactus plants.

I had no idea who suggested placing their cacti in the living room, but that wasn't important. I suggested they had to relocate every single cactus away from their living room, or at least most of them. Because, according to the ancient art of Feng shui, a cactus simply brings bad Feng shui in placed on the wrong place.

What was the problem with cactus plants in the first place?

Plants in general bring positive Feng Shui in your home. But cacti are somewhat specific. There is no denying that they are nice plants with strong protective energy. In fact, they emit Yin energy (water) that is accumulated inside their succulent body.

The problem, however, is in their needles. As sharp objects they look like thousands of tiny arrows that shoot directed energy into the surrounding space. That's why good placement of cacti is important according to Feng Shui.

What's wrong with placing cactus plant in the living room?

A living room that has good Feng shui is a calm and secluded place where you can feel comfortable, rest and relax. If you have your cactus plants all over the place, they will constantly poke you with their sharp pointed tips.

Unless your fame and reputation quadrant is in your living room (see below) you shouldn't have them there.

Here are some other placements that are not so favorable:

Close to the entrance on the inside or outside the main door:

Don't place your cactus close to the entrance or main door either. That is, not unless you have difficult, nuisance neighbors and want to keep them away. In all the other cases, you want this area to be as free as possible for new, refreshing energy to be able to come into your home.

Your office desk:

Your office desk is also not the right place for a cactus. That is, unless you want to chase away all your potential customers and business partners, which I am sure you don't. Check this article for more tips about how to Feng shui your office desk.

Your kitchen:

If you don't want your food to taste bitter, it is very important to be happy and positive while preparing it in the kitchen. If you put your cactus plants there, they will emit their negative energy during your cooking. That might definitely transfer to your meals and eventually to the people who are going to eat the food.

So, avoid placing them there.

Your bedroom:

Bedrooms are probably not so favorable places for keeping this succulent plant either. Here you want to be able to open up freely and to be intimate with your spouse. You certainly don't want to be pricked in any way.

The bathroom:

Bathrooms are also forbidden areas because when you are there, you want to be at peace as well. But there is one exception. You can read about it down below, but first let us point out the only proper place for a cactus in your home.

What is the proper place for a cactus according to Feng Shui?

In order to bring good Feng shui the cactus have to go in the fame and reputation quadrant. The fame and reputation quadrant is the part of your home dedicated to what and who you are and what you want to bring to the outside world. In Feng shui, the fame and reputation corner corresponds to the fire element. Colors present in this quadrant should be bright and fiery, for example, orange, yellow or red.

When you put your cactus plants there, symbolically you work on protecting your career and reputation. The "fame and reputation" corner of your home is directly across as seen from the main entrance.

The only exception

Let us see what is the exception to the above rule. According to some Feng shui experts, that happens if you have your bathroom in the Northwest part of your home, while it should normally be in the North direction.

The element of the North is water, so toilets and bathrooms should go there. But if you already have it in the Northwest or some other direction, place a large cactus in the bathroom to alleviate the problem.

At this point you might be wondering what happened to the couple from the beginning of this article. At first they were reluctant to do anything with the placement. They simply didn't believe it had anything to do with Feng shui. It took time, but eventually they come around and rearranged their placement. As if by miracle, last time I checked, they seemed to have restored their peaceful atmosphere in the living room.

Summary

I get it that cactus plants can have subtle beauty and bring fulfilling visual experience. Especially when they produce flowers. If you love to have them in your home, ensure that they have a proper placement.

The only safe position for a cactus plant in your home is the fame and reputation quadrant. Make sure they are NOT positioned in your kitchen, bedroom, dining room, office, or other prohibited areas. Otherwise they may affect your life in a more direct way than you may be willing to admit.

About the Author

Sunny breeze is a member of sunnyray's editorial staff.

Comments:

Osvaldo Chacon says:
11-20-2015

Thank you Sunny for this wonderful opportunity for the world to understand this energy better. I am Mexican and 80% of Cacti in the world come from our country. I have loved these plants all of my life, I even protect them in activists activities. I have a cactus which has been with me since I was 8 years old. So as you can tell I have a collection in my front patio. By the way my main door is not in our front patio you go around. I am learning about Feng Shui and hopefully I can get to have my home, casa de ustedes, in peace and harmony.

sunny says:
11-22-2015

Thanks for the comment Osvaldo. I wish you to achieve great harmony and a stream of peaceful positive energy in your home.

Mulano says:
02-04-2016

I just bought a cactus, and found this article, cannot get rid of cactus (I'm sure frightened to know that cactus comes with bad luck). Thanks for the post, but I'm really not sure about fame and reputation quadrant. I'd appreciate if someone gives an example about it and if it goes well.

sunny says:
02-04-2016

Hi Mulano
Your Cactus is not inherently bad. Just put it in the right place. Check this article for the position of the fame and reputation area.

Courtney says:
02-06-2016

What about a water color painting of the desert with cacti in it? There are no spines sticking out of any of the cacti. It's actually a very soft painting.. Pastel colors...any other thoughts?

Cyndi says:
04-16-2016

Hi, i would like to ask , I just brought 2 of small cactus ball shape one is red n yellow , I display infront of my main door, directly my main door, is it ok ? Please reply asap..thks alot

Olga Victoria says:
04-20-2016

Hi there! Just bought two cacti, what if our main door directly faces our living room? And then the living room has a wall facing our main door so that makes the game and reputation corner located in the middle of the living room, but u said not to put the cactus in the living room, so where does my cactus go now?

sunny says:
04-20-2016

Hi Olga
Thank for the comment. Every individual room in your home may have a fame and reputation quadrant. So, maybe you could choose some other room to put your cactus there.

Jujak says:
05-22-2016

Hi
I have many ????????????sitting beside be and they have been creating very bad problems for me so much so that I'm in the line of firing squad. Can i put catus behind me(a cabinet and bosses rooms behind me) to ward off all bad people?

sunny says:
05-24-2016

I've never tried such a thing, but it is worth checking out what it will bring.

Me says:
06-07-2016

I place my cactus not close to my doors more on the outside by my opening gate to deter negative neighbors.Also for Jujak use mini cannons for those ass....s at work they work pointed at the negative people because pointing a mini mirror would be to obvious where as the cannons are decorative but fo there job of protecting you but returning destruction to proper people.

mel says:
07-03-2016

mel-7-3-16
my neighbor gave me a fairy castle cactus which i think the red flowers are fake she said her friend gave a bunch of that for free and she gave me 2 somebody told me she is not a good neighbor en even to me thats why i wonderdering why she gave me tht 2 fairy castle cactus knowing that we start for a good friendship i put the 2 cactus in front of my window beside the maindoor is on the rightside is it ok..my husband doest want and and he likes to throw it away bec. the flowers on top of the fairy castle are face...

Maridel says:
07-18-2016

Hi! you mentioned about the bathroom...the bathroom in our master's bedroom is at south-east. Based on my reading, I believe it shouldn't be there. However, there is no way that we can relocate it. what can i do to repel the bad luck? thanks!

sunny says:
07-20-2016

You could for instance put some kind of a barrier. Barriers, like walls, trees, mirrors, stones, or wind chimes are effective tools that can help prevent the negative chi from reaching to your living areas.

Rochel says:
08-05-2016

How about if I place it on our stairways going to the 2nd floor going to my husband's office and masters bedroom?

sunny says:
08-06-2016

Not sure about the stairways. Maybe some of the readers will know.

Tara says:
08-17-2016

Sunny, my sister likes very to put any cacto in the praying room. Is it a proper place for cacto even it looks beautiful. Thanks.

sunny says:
08-22-2016

I'm not sure about the praying room either. Maybe if yours sister needs protection from negative external influences in her spiritual work.

Rudolph Candaroma says:
08-23-2016

What if my cactus are positioned outside our house beside the gate entrance? That is the only space that we have to put our lovely cactus.(when facing them, northwest direction) 2nd question, is it ok to put it on terrace?(south direction when going out of the terrace)

sunny says:
08-25-2016

If it has to be close to the entrance, I would put it as far away from the door as possible. That is, to enable fresh energy to move freely through the door. More or less the same logic could be applied to the terrace positioning.

Ditty.sumalinog says:
11-11-2016

I have a cactus plant and i placed ut in my terrace left side of my house and i have a space in right side of and i place ther some of my cactus is that ok ok for the feng shui

Mel says:
12-24-2016

My bathroom is on the northwest, is it okay to put my cactus there?

Virginia Holmes says:
01-23-2017

for location of the Bagua inside the house or office, what is my reference?? the coordinates geographical location (north/south) or the position of the main entrance? of the room, house, office? - I am very confused. My office fame position is on the south if my reference is the coordinates, but its on my right if my reference is the main entrance.

sunnyray says:
01-24-2017

Hi Virginia
There are two schools and both work. Choose the one which is more in line with how you feel about feng shui. The first school (compass school) is to use the cardinal directions: North, South, East, and West. The second school (form school) is to align everything with the entrance or front door.

now i know where to place this plant which I received as a gift.
thank you!
i read somewhere it brings bad luck, but since you share i just need to place in fame and reputation quadrant. I can gladly keep it in my place.

sunnyray says:
01-25-2017

Thanks for taking the time to comment, Hoshi. Best of luck with your cactus plant!

Vasanthi says:
02-06-2017

I had kept it in balcony of bedroom and faced certain problems. Thank you for making me understand the difference between energy levels at different positions.

sunnyray says:
02-07-2017

Thank you too Vasanthi. Take care.

William Cardoza says:
04-20-2017

Hi Sunny,>
Since 17 years I am growing a cactus in my garden near the septic tank which is north west side and my bath room/wash room/toilet is in the same direction and 10 ft. away from the plant. Is it bad or good to my house. The plant has grown about 12 ft. height.

sunnyray says:
04-20-2017

Cactus grown in a garden is quite OK. It doesn't affect what happens inside of your house.

Preethi says:
05-16-2017

Hi sunny,
What is your opinion on having succulent plants in living room or dinning room. I have a succulent on my dinning table after reading this article I am worried if I should remove. Please advice.

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